The Secret Service

Recent news about the alleged misbehavior of a number of President Obama’s Secret Service agents reveals a rarely seen side of the discreet and buttoned-up federal agency. It also brings to mind the work of the veteran photographer Brooks Kraft, who has been covering the White House for the past twelve years, and became drawn to those people who, as he describes it, “shield the President from the world by creating a secure bubble around him, where he is visible, yet almost untouchable.”

“After watching the large Secret Service apparatus that surrounds the President around the world, I realized many of their duties are a study in contradictions,” Kraft told me. “They are close to the President, but rarely interact with him. They are surrounded by excited crowds and movement, but must remain calm and focussed. They observe the ultimate power and privilege, but are there to protect it instead of experience it. Despite long days frequently filled with monotonous and repetitive duties, they maintain a steely decorum and laser focus. It is not the James Bond movie most imagine.”

However, the agents’ reaction to Kraft making them the subjects of his photographs was not what he’d expected: “I was concerned they might take objection to being photographed away from the crowds,” he said, “but I found the opposite. Frequently, they would request copies of the photographs, offering up Secret Service memorabilia in exchange. The agents regularly rotate through the Presidential protective detail, and they wanted something to remember their time inside the bubble.”